elnino14

One Night Stand Falls Count Anywhere Match – Jeff Hardy v Umaga: The announcers make no mention of why this match is occurring, and since I haven’t been watching the episodes in-between PPVs, my guess is that it’s just a random thrown together match. If anybody could get the crowd fired up for the rest of the show it’s Jeff Hardy, so it’s not a bad choice for an opener. The match wasn’t bad, it just seemed like wrestlers were meandering from spot-piece to spot-piece. The two men tried some innovative things with emphasis on Hardy taking risks and Umaga being a monster (I especially liked the closteline on the stairwell and Umaga shrugging off the construction equipment thrown at his head). The ending of this match is just marred by the B-movie fakeness of the whole thing and really brings what was already an average match down just a bit for me. ** Singapore Cane Match – Big Show v CM Punk v Tommy Dreamer v John Morrison v Chavo Guerrero: Although, they gave away the victor in their opening package, I liked this match. It was fast-paced, action packed, served a purpose, and had some substance. Big Show seemed to be meandering after making a big return at No Way Out and semi-headlining Mania (facing Khali at Backlash and not even being at Judgment Day), but this match seems to show new direction for him. Big Show was the rightly the focus of the story of the match, all the wrestlers attacking him at the start, and his being busted open (which looked down-right nasty) firing him up to come back and dominate everyone, and interestingly enough Dreamer got a chance to shine. Fun, short, and brutal. ** ¾ First Blood Match – JBL v John Cena: While I can imagine some being upset about their last match at Judgment day being slow and methodical, it at least had a solid story and some substance to go with it. This match on the other hand, was slow and methodical but in a bad, dull way. I never though that a match between these two that involves brawling would be worse than a straight match or maybe its just the fact that I prefer technical wrestling more than garbage wrestling that blinds me. Or maybe it’s the fact that this match is happening on a card full of gimmick matches, lessening the impact of the gimmick. While the other match was about showing the strength and persistence of Cena, the whole story for this match was the gimmick. The whole match was both men attacking their opponent’s head in various ways (and sometimes creative, I have to admit). JBL lost cleanly...again. And while I liked the concept of the ending (because Cena wasn’t having any luck going for external blood he went for internal instead), it played out weirdly in execution. ** ¼ Randy Orton proposes to Batista that they should team up and create a stable after the draft…hmmm….that sounds rather excellent. I’m a huge stable fan grew up during the stable wars (DX, Nation of Domination, Hart Foundation, and N.W.O. which Microsoft word doesn’t allow you to type in N.W.O. without the periods). “I Quit” Match – Melina v Beth Phoenix: This is kind of an inverse of the First Blood Match on this show, the two women spend most of the match putting each other in twisted submissions just in order to get the other to say “I quit.” While the stipulation again felt limiting, this match did make use of the added details of telling the story of how strong Phoenix is and how Melina is at a huge disadvantage because of it and has to use speed and unpredictability to take advantage. Probably the best women’s match not involving Trish Stratus. ** ¾ Stretcher Match – Shawn Michaels v Batista: HBK has been having really good matches on every PPV I’ve seen him in thus far, if not the Match of the Night. This match was no different. They made great use of not the gimmick but also of the background to the match (Flair retirement, HBK lying, Batista wanting to hurt HBK). They didn’t do anything particular creative in terms of using the stretcher as a weapon but the gimmick fit into the story they tried to tell. Batista basically wanted to hurt HBK because HBK not only retired his friend but then also lied about an injury in order to gain sympathy and win a match. The match involves the quick pace that you from HBK matches without the slow arm work from the last match, a couple reversals that were used in their first match, and completes the feud in a full-circle aspect as not only does Batista HURT HBK, but also echoes the words that HBK said to Flair (which was awesome). Probably for the first time tonight, the feud not only warranted the stipulation, but the stipulation fit into the match perfectly. *** ¾ Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship – Triple H v Randy Orton: The gimmick itself made sense, and they explained it perfectly in the video package, in that this is the same gimmick and same condition that occurred during the beginning of Orton’s reign (the difference is that Hunter didn’t have to go through two other matches earlier in the evening). The gimmick leads to a nice full circle aspect in terms of Orton’s recent main event run. The match itself was unfortunately marred by the freak injury. This match was moving along pretty typically in terms of a Hunter/Orton match and it’s sad to see that just when the match seemed to catch its swing and gain momentum, it ends. There was a cool moment where Orton attempted to do an RKO on the announce table, the same movie that put out Cena for months and the same move (I assume) that won him the title from Hunter in the first place. I don’t know how long this puts out Orton, but it sucks because I actually liked his title reign. The ending came off terribly with Hunter giving a half-hearted sledgehammer shot to Orton for the W. ** ½ TLC Match for the Vacant World Heavyweight Championship (If Undertaker Loses, He Leaves the WWE) – Undertaker v Edge: These two have good chemistry and by this point they had a formula down pat. It’s funny to see how the crowd eats up La Familia’s involvement every single match. The match had its moments, Edge taking out Taker’s leg was an inspired piece of psychology and the dual ladder shots (falling from the ladder onto ladders placed on the turnbuckles) makes for a nice equality between the two men. Unfortunately this wasn’t too much more than a spotfest, I felt that it lacked the anger that should have been here, the heat that should have been here, and the reversals of signature move that we’ve seen both men bust out before. A good match but not as good as their matches at Mania and Backlash. *** ½ Final Thoughts: I didn’t like this show too much, many of the matches were stale by this point and many matches don’t really make sense in why they’re happening. Batista and HBK had the match of the night and is certainly worth watching (along with Taker/Edge, and a surprising performance by the females) but other than that it was a rather slow and boring show and gimmick matches all night is really draining and makes it hard for the fan to feel that any are special. So far the worst show I've seen from 08. Next PPV (Night of champions) is after the draft so I expect very different matches. By looking at the card, it seems to give me different matches but the card as a whole looks rather abysmal with No HBK, the dull Edge vs. Batista reigniting, and a rivalry that lost a lot of steam in HHH and Cena. Although its rather intriguing to see a lot of the undercard, midcard (Matt Hardy, Finlay) and younger superstars get showcased here (Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Dibiase, MizMo). 5.5/10 Top WWE PPV Matches of 08: 1. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 24) - **** ¾ 2. Edge vs. Undertaker (Wrestlemania 24) - **** 3. Raw Elimination Chamber (No Way Out 08) - **** 4. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (Judgment Day 08) - **** 5. Shawn Michaels vs. Batista (One Night Stand 08) - *** ¾ 6. Undertaker vs. Edge (Backlash 08) - *** ¾ 7. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. HHH vs. JBL (Backlash 08) - *** ¾ 8. MITB (Wrestlemania 24) - *** ½ 9. Shawn Michaels vs. Batista (Backlash 08) - *** ½ 10. Undertaker vs. Edge (One Night Stand 08) - *** ½ 11. Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy (Royal Rumble 08) - *** ½ 12. Edge vs Undertaker (Judgment Day 08) - *** ½ 13. Randy Orton vs. John Cena (No Way Out 08) - *** ¼ 14. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 24) - *** ¼ When I reach 20, the bottom matches are going begin to get knocked off.

I think it was a three way because when they announced the contenders they had American Dragon and Low Ki sharing the 16th spot or something, and since it'd be a waste to eliminate one of them so early on they gave the three ways to lower-carders. I think that's what happened.

Thanks. I'm enjoying doing them. It's nice to know somebody's reading them. I watched HBK vs. Jericho from Judgment Day again today. That match is still really a thing of beauty. EVERYTHING made sense and the had so many little things that made it even better. Jericho going after the leg early, HBK upsetting Jericho by showing him he's not hurt that he just got played, of course playing into the story from Backlash. HBK playing heel by frustrating Jericho even more (SLAP TO THE FACE, BACKING OFF, COCKY SMILE!). Flash Superkick on the apron to play into the story of HBK being incredibly unpredictable. HBK worked the arm a little early on, setting up the crossface spot later. Jericho's work on the midsection plays into the Walls of Jericho, of course. Jericho catching HBK in the codebreaker by playing possum when HBK was tuning up the band, showing the Jericho is also willing to do anything to win. Of course the intense finishing sequence with HBK trying to injure Jericho's ribs by reversing the Lionsault, Jericho landing on his feet, and FLASH PIN! It all fits! Jericho and Michaels are so even, they know each other so well, they're both willing to do whatever it takes to win, they're both frustrating each other, but THIS TIME HBK was just a bit more unpredictable by catching that Pin. Jericho shakes HBK's hand clean (great call-back to Mania 19 with both men being so hesitant) which should signal the end of this but I get the feeling that's not true. I'm boosting the rating a bit. **** Man....and only 16 minutes, beautiful. One Night Stand is next....and the card looks a lot like this one...skippable. Hopefully the gimmicks will make this the end of HHH/Orton, Taker/Edge, JBL/Cena, and HBK/Batista. JBL/Cena and Orton/HHH make no sense considering that Cena and HHH both won clean (although JBL DID beat the hell out of Cena at Judgment Day, a loss is still a loss). While I really like the Taker/Edge rivalry and the matches have all been good, it just needs to end and HBK/Batista makes sense as Batista would of course be angry that he got played too, but it really isn't nearly as intriguing as seeing more Jericho/HBK, plus the Stretcher stipulations sucks. I'm assuming I'll be seeing new matches after this...I'll see, I've done a good job of not looking at future cards thus far.

Judgement Day John Cena v JBL: While these two have squared off before, this match and feud hasn’t happened in so long that it seems fresh. This match makes perfect sense booking wise considering the results of Backlash. It’s interesting to me that they would go for what pretty much a straight wrestling match considering neither man really excels at that style and the last time they tried it with each other it led to disastrous results (Mania 21) but they’ve both tremendously to really have a solid wrestling match. I enjoyed the match, JBL worked the arm and midsection pretty well (though he faltered near the end) and Cena did an excellent job selling (though I wish he made more hope spots). The ending came out of nowhere, but it made sense in terms of the match, Cena’s best chance was a flash finish using JBL’s own momentum to get him up into the FU, JBL had picked him apart enough to make sure Cena couldn’t win by sustained offense and power JBL up into the FU. I liked the match it worked, it lacked the heat, the quick pace, and the finishing sequence that an opener needs but it was a good match. ** ¾ WWE Tag Team Championship Match – John Morrison & The Mix v Kane & CM Punk: This match seems completely random and for a thrown together tag match, it’s not bad. I think this would have done a lot better as the opener of the show as it’s quick paced, never boring, has some nice spots, and all in all competent mindless fun. They really booked themselves into a corner though because they obviously didn’t want to take the titles off of Miz and Morrison and at the same time Kane is their ECW champ and CM Punk is their MiTB holder. The ending looked a bit goofy but it was still a fun match. ** ½ Shawn Michaels v Chris Jericho: This was the match I was most looking forward to on this card and it was pretty sufficient for the placement on the card and the story they were projecting. These two guys put on an excellent match at Mania 19 and met up in excellent encounters during a variety of Elimination Chambers since then. It was a catch-as-catch-can match with neither man playing a specific heel/face alignment, but it was still an excellent match. This was a very technical encounter and it was really well put together with some excellent nearfalls (that CodeBreaker made me jump) and technical exchanges. Michael’s arm work early in the match played into later parts of the match, Michaels injured rib section really worked to sell the match. They sold the story that this match was based off of with Jericho testing the leg in the early going and Michaels showing it is okay, and HBK’s unpredictability playing a large part of the match. They had a sufficient match to keep fans entertained and yet you can tell they’ve got much more to work with for when they need it. I could watch these two men wrestle all day. Somebody hook me up with a comp dvd. *** ¾ Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women’s Championship – Mickie James v Beth Phoenix v Melina: Meh, the match isn’t that great. I really like Beth Phoenix and all three are pretty competent in the ring but the match didn’t gel. It got really awkward and as much as they wanted to push the issue between Phoenix and Melina, it didn’t jive because Mickie was implanted in the middle. Still Phoenix was impressive, there were some impressive exchanges, and it was better than what many of the other women are capable of. ** World Heavyweight Championship Match – Undertaker v Edge: The video package drove me a bit loopy, the championship chase seemed like such a waste of time to reach this endgame. I’m really enjoying the series between these two men, they took a slightly different twist on the story of the match because the Undertaker’s submission was banned and Edge is really good at scouting his finishers so he had to put a bit of a twist on his finishers. The match was good but it seemed like these two are running out of rabbits to pull out of the hat. Edge tried to do something different by working Taker’s leg but that’s completely forgotten 5 minutes later but mainly the match relied on a lot of old tricks, which isn’t a bad thing but by the third time it feels stale. The entire match feels like a middle-chapter and the ending reinforces that fact. Pop a gimmick on this and let’s head to an exciting conclusion. *** ½ Jeff Hardy v MVP: I never thought a match between these two could be a disaster but here it is. The match had no substance, really, no substance. It felt like the JBL/Cena match earlier except with less experienced wrestlers. Considering the positioning it almost felt like the WWE wanted this to be a cool down match and it very much was. * ¼ Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship – Triple H v Randy Orton: There is absolutely no reason for this match to take place in a cage outside of William Regal wants it to. These two tried, Orton going for constant escapes to win is a call-back to how most of Orton’s title reign was, and Triple H more content with beating the hell out of Orton makes sense, but the match lacked a lot of drama. The Cage stipulation did not make sense, the match had an inordinate amount of punching sequences, it was painfully slow, and it was a foregone conclusion. It’s not a bad match, the crowd (probably piped in) got into as the match entered the concluding sequence and I really liked the Orton escape attempts because they seemed so desperate, but the ending was never in doubt and the finishing sequence was better at Backlash. *** Final Thoughts: This is a big step down from previous PPVs of 2008, it feels like they are treading water here as it’s a middle chapter for most of the feuds here. The Jericho/HBK match is excellent but everybody else had better showings at Mania and/or Backlash. 6.5/10 Top WWE PPV Matches of 08: 1. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 24) - **** ¾ 2. Edge vs. Undertaker (Wrestlemania 24) - **** 3. Raw Elimination Chamber (No Way Out 08) - **** 4. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (Judgment Day 08) - *** ¾ 5. Undertaker vs. Edge (Backlash 08) - *** ¾ 6. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. HHH vs. JBL (Backlash 08) - *** ¾ 7. MITB (Wrestlemania 24) - *** ½ 8. Shawn Michaels vs. Batista (Backlash 08) - *** ½ 9. Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy (Royal Rumble 08) - *** ½ 10. Edge vs Undertaker (Judgment Day 08) - *** ½ 11. Randy Orton vs. John Cena (No Way Out 08) - *** ¼ 12. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 24) - *** ¼ God, that Jericho/HBK match rocked.

Backlash 2008: WWE United States Championship Match – MVP v Matt Hardy: For a match that’s been a long time in the making, this was a rather anti-climactic feud ending encounter. It wasn’t a bad match, per say, actually it was rather good, but it just lacked something. The match at times didn’t even make sense, much of the build and the post-match antics focused on Matt Hardy’s recovery from a knee injury, but the match focused on Matt overcoming a mid-section injury. The crowd was way into it, they had some great moments and near-falls, and it was pretty even for both men, but the ending was too sudden, the match felt off, and it fell below my expectations. ** ¾ ECW Championship Match – Kane v Chavo Guerrero: This was like many of Chavo Guerrero’s and Kane’s other matches, slow and dull. The match felt a lot longer than it actually was, the pacing was off, and frankly I just couldn’t give a shit. They tried to do something, they had a built in story with the Kane’s injured leg, and really none of it came together. Also Adamle on commentary certainly doesn’t help. * Big Show v The Great Khali: Another dull and painfully slow match. This match is pretty much propped up by Foley’s commentary, as he tries to instill some story into this match about Big Show returning to reclaim his spot as the best BIG athlete and pro-wrestler. Too bad the match was pretty much crap and involved Khali dominating the offense for most of it. * ½ Shawn Michaels v Batista – Special Guest Referee: Chris Jericho: I’m really sad I missed out on this story because it seems so excellent and the build-up video plays perfectly into the match. Shawn and Batista being tense over the whole Flair retirement issue and Jericho being a little instigator. The match itself was rather good, playing off of many of their earlier interactions with both men reversing each other’s finisher before moving into the bulk of the match involving Shawn grounding Batista by working the arm. The finish was also excellent because it involved some an excellent exchange involving more finisher reversals and leaves the sincerity of Shawn’s leg injury in doubt. Probably my biggest gripe is that the work on Batista’s arm didn’t really go anywhere outside of being an attempt to keep the big man grounded and for something that slowed the match down and played an important part in the match, it should have meant more. Also I wish Jericho had more to do, but at the same time I wouldn’t have wanted to give him too much and it ends up hampering the match. Nonetheless, it was a really fun match to watch and kept my attention all the way through. *** ½ 12-Diva Tag Team Match – Mickie James, Maria, Ashley, Michelle McCool, Cherry & Kelly Kelly v Beth Phoenix, Melina, Jillian, Victoria, Natalya & Layla: Is it bad to say that I didn’t find this to be too bad? With so many women, the action and pace kept moving constantly, the wrestlers could be in the bulk of the match, and the divas can do their one move and leave. It was really well booked keeping the better wrestlers in the ring mainly and focusing on Mickie James and Beth Phoenix. It wasn’t great, but it certainly wasn’t as bad as this could have been. It would have been much better if Santino was involved though, especially after owning Snoop Dogg at Mania. * ¾ World Heavyweight Championship Match – Undertaker v Edge: Another great match between these two with them playing on the story post-Mania, with Taker’s back being a bit softened up for Edge to take advantage of and Taker wanting to destroy Edge for the being a dick. It wasn’t quite as good as the Mania match, it took a bit longer to pick up (Taker’s opening offensive sequence was a bit long), and there were less near-falls, and the finishing sequence was much shorter. But they played off of the Mania 24 story quite well, they played off of the rivalry between these two, and they had a really hot ending again with a great finish. *** ¾ Fatal Four-Way Elimination Match for the WWE Championship – Randy Orton v John Cena v Triple H v JBL: The first 10 minutes was a pretty typical elimination match, hectic and fast-paced but the rapid first two eliminations really allowed for HHH and Orton to have a knock-down drag out match filled with loads of tension as HHH played a tremendous face-in-peril as Orton took him apart. I’m a bit saddened by the result because Orton was on such a roll as champion and his reign feels a bit truncated, but this match was a very fitting end to his reign, although it’s quite interesting that it was just the beginning of the singles rivalry of Orton and HHH (according to the extra and the Judgment day card). *** ¾ Overall: This is quite the show with the final two hours being pretty tremendous in terms of match quality and story telling. Not quite as great as Mania 24, but I doubt any of the PPVs will reach that standard. Anyways, three great matches that really forward the direction of the WWE for 2008 makes this a must see PPV but only if you’ve seen Mania 24 first. 8.5/10 Top WWE PPV Matches of 08: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 24) - **** ¾ Edge vs. Undertaker (Wrestlemania 24) - **** Raw Elimination Chamber (No Way Out 08) - **** Undertaker vs. Edge (Backlash 08) - *** ¾ Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. HHH vs. JBL (Backlash 08) - *** ¾ MITB (Wrestlemania 24) - *** ½ Shawn Michaels vs. Batista (Backlash 08) - *** ½ Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy (Royal Rumble 08) - *** ½ Randy Orton vs. John Cena (No Way Out 08) - *** ¼ Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 24) - *** ¼

Wrestlemania 24: One of my favorite parts of Mania is the opening video. Another good one here, very reminiscent of the style used at Mania 20, although I don’t think it was as good as that one. Belfast Brawl: Finlay v JBL: I totally don’t care about this entire bullshit storyline. Everybody loves the midget since he got some of the biggest pops, but the match didn’t do much for me. It wasn’t that stiff and they used weapons to cover up any limitations of the match. There was some good stuff here, particularly when they turned up the notch on the siffness and when they tried some insane shit (Finlay’s garbage can lid to the face suicide dive). The match was fine for an opener, a short blast of some quick and brutal action. ** Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Chris Jericho v Shelton Benjamin v John Morrison v Carlito v CM Punk v MVP v Mr. Kennedy: Ever since the first MITB Ladder match, I haven’t really enjoyed them as much. Well this one was boosted up a little bit for me, it seemed really close to the booking that made me enjoy the first one. They played up each character for what they were, they had a lot of intervening storylines (Punk/Kennedy, MVP/Hardy), and they had some new innovative spots (that Moonsault with the ladder was particularly impressive). Although the planned ending was kind of thrown out the window apparently due to Jeff Hardy getting suspended, the new ending still makes me hopeful in the WWE using the MITB to push a new superstar than to build a currently existing one. *** ½ Todd Grisham Interviews Snoop Dogg: Santino owns once more completely ruling this segment and it’s sad to see that Foley is the worst one in this segment and the least funny. Battle for Brand Supremacy: Batista v Umaga: The best part of this match is the pro-Umaga crowd sitting right on camera. The match itself was boring, it looked like they attempted to put something together with Umaga working the back and that it didn’t all fall into place. This ends thankfully quickly. * ECW Championship Match: Chavo Guerrero v Kane: SQUASH! Yeah, that’ll make people care about the ECW championship. Career Threatening Match: Ric Flair v Shawn Michaels: A combination of extreme emotional investment and excellent storytelling is what makes this match really rise to the occasion and become an instant classic. This match has an overarching story, “The Old Yeller” and Career threatening match story, but it’s all the little nuances that really make this match, from the Flair trademarks, to the classic technical fast paced chain wrestling that Flair was an expert at, to the working of Shawn’s leg to set up the Figure Four, to the “I’m Sorry, I Love You.” They played it all expertly and the crowd ate it up, every second and so did I. Of course, it didn’t make sense to me why Flair was limping by the end of the match since the brunt of the figure four was done on HBK, and sure Flair isn’t as spry as he used to be, but it really is an excellent match and I’d be surprised if anything can surpass it this year. **** ¾ Playboy Bunnymania Lumberjack Match: Maria & Ashley v Beth Phoenix & Melina: SKIP! Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: Randy Orton v John Cena v Triple H: This match was fast paced and exciting. It played to all three men’s characters quite well and allowed all three men the chance to shine at some point. While I quite liked this match, it felt lacking a certain depth to it to make it a great match. At times it seemed like they were telling a story about the three men (with Cena and Triple H consistently attacking Orton before getting in each other’s way so often that allowed Orton to take advantage of the opportunity) and at other times it just seemed like they were doing moves just for the sake of doing them. Also there was a lot of two man in, one man out, but it sort of made sense with the story they were trying to tell. Triple H has an extended sequence working Orton’s leg, but it doesn’t seem to lead anywhere outside of helping out Cena’s STFU. A good match but not a great one. *** ¼ The Biggest v The Best: Big Show v Floyd “Money” Mayweather: While not the best worked match ever, this is a highly entertaining segment. I love some of the comments in the build-up video (such as Big Show’s: “He’s fast, but did you see how fast he left the ring (at No Way Out),” and the video doesn’t really paint either side as heel or face. Mayweather’s actions are heel but he’s a complete underdog based on his side, it’s a rather interesting experiment, the crowd seemed more pro-Show (I’m guessing because of the idea that Mayweather is invading the wrestling world). I liked it, it kept Show really strong even though he technically lost, and it made Mayweather look like a dick, which seem to play to his strengths. ** ¾ World Heavyweight Championship Match: Edge v Undertaker: While the crowd seemed to be deflated during the start of this match, Edge and Taker brought the crowd into it by the end. While the first half of this match was rather dull it helped build up the match that would lead to an excellent second half. They built tension, had an excellently worked match with Edge really knowing the Undertaker reversing many of his moves and constantly taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves, that played into the story that Edge may really have Undertaker’s number. I really enjoyed it. **** ¼ Overall: This is an excellent show, pretty entertaining throughout with some downpoints to cool people off from the highpoints that come before. There are 5 matches that are good with two of those being rather excellent. I’m sad that I missed this when it happened because some of the more poignant moments are lessened by the time (like Hardy’s return, Mayweather’s hype, among other things). 9.5/10 Top WWE PPV Matches of 08: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 24) - **** ¾ Edge vs. Undertaker (Wrestlemania 24) - **** ¼ Raw Elimination Chamber (No Way Out 08) - **** MITB (Wrestlemania 24) - *** ½ Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy (Royal Rumble 08) - *** ½ Randy Orton vs. John Cena (No Way Out 08) - *** ¼ Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 24) - *** ¼

I reread some of Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volume 1 and read Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volumes 2. I like Volume 2 a little bit more. I can totally see how Miller influenced Bendis' run because this series is not just superhero book, but it's a crime noir book with lots of emphasis and focus on the supporting characters. I've never read anything before these two TPBs but it seems that Miller really fleshed out the world of Daredevil exposing pieces of his past, and broadening the scope to the city's inhabitants and the hero's antagonists. I've really enjoyed his run thus far and the third volume should arrive by the beginning of February. In terms of the second volume, the issue made up of Bullseye's narrative was absolutely fabulous and the serialized storytelling really pulls up to the forefront by the Gangwar in Volume 1. Also there are a few issues guest-starring the Punisher, but it's Castle fits so seamlessly in this world that it works way too well. Can't wait to read Volume 3. 9.5 Total Comic books: 0 Trade paperbacks: 2 Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volumes 1 and 2

try the uk amazon site elnino you could import them from there I think I saw them on there below is the link to a search I performed: X-Men 1992 DVD's Season 1 Parts 1 & 2 I'm cool with my bootleg copy until they eventually release the entire box-set with all episodes.

Cable showed up as early as episode 7. So to me, it looks like season 1 (which is 13 episodes) is being split into two and sold on two volumes that retail together around $48. That's really fucking bullshit money making scheme right there. I agree give us the whole show or disregarding that at least give us season sets.

So I've been watching a bunch of movies during the winter break...but I wanted to highlight a few. I Finally got my hands on Hellboy 2: The Golden Army and I really truly liked it. It held the mood, was a continuation but also could be watched on it's own, imaginative, and entertaining as hell. The first one slided a bit when it got down to the last 30 minutes but this one paced itself quite well and didn't have that same problem. I really liked it and it's sad that it got overshadowed by the Dark Knight and Iron Man because it's a great movie in it's own right. Traitor was another interesting movie that possesses a little more than the usual political thriller. The main character is intriguing as hell and it posed interesting questions in terms of the political and terrorist mindset. Plus it's starring Don Cheadle who I think is amazing. (Re)Watched the Jurassic Park trilogy (seen 1 and 2 before, watching three for the first time), 1 was excellent in terms of plot, themes, portrayal of the dinosaurs, and building tension. The Lost World was okay, they have a real tense scene with the trailer and the dinosaur portrayal and themes rock here, but there's also a lot of goofy stuff (especially the ending sequence) and less intense scenes. The third film is not quite the disaster I thought it would be, but it also doesn't hold a candle to the other films in any shape or form, except maybe the characters are better than 2 because it's less expansive cast, the tension isn't nearly as well done as the other films, the dinosaurs are more monster than animal, the plot doesn't have the intelligent themes that the others have and really those are the major downfalls. Jurassic Park excelled when it took itself seriously, treated the dinosaurs as animals rather than monsters, and it dealt with more adult themes of morality and ethics of the situation and the fears of capitalism. Ultimately the first movie is excellent while the other two dip down in quality. Also watched the first three Harry Potter films while the first two were enjoyable, they were ultimately unremarkable for me. There's a few reasons for this, the kids are too young and haven't quite developed as actors/actresses as they would late be. The films are too light-hearted and colorful. The third film took the tone of the book and became a little bit darker, and it helped the film become the best one I've seen yet. The actors and actresses are more mature and fitting into their roles nicely. Plus the third one expands the world a bit by adding in a lot more supporting characters (including the awesome Gary Oldman) and the dementors. I'm excited to watch the fourth movie this weekend. Stay the F*** Away From Righteous Kill. It's terrible.

Angel ended one season too soon. Tru Calling and Firefly never got it's fair chance. I'm actually really worried about Dollhouse.

No Way Out 2008: ECW Championship Match – Chavo Guerrero v CM Punk: Lookie, CM Punk, this match did well in this spot, it was short, competitive and mainly fast paced. I don’t understand why Chavo would attempt to slow it down so much but, thankfully, it didn’t last. The big blemish in the match is how horribly received the Tres Amigos by Punk is. Oh well. A decent, yet inconsequential match. ** ¼ Mike Adamle Interviews Rey Mysterio: Oh look it’s the goof. Adamle, not Rey or Floyd, although it’s arguable for the other two. Floyd already annoys me in that he totally acts like a heel type of way. Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match – Undertaker v Batista vs. Finlay v Big Daddy V v MVP v Great Khali: You know, I really wanted to like this match but I was rather bored for most of it. It seemed like a long way around to get to the ultimate end-game of Batista vs. Undertaker showdown that took place at the end of this match. The end-confrontation between those two was rather awesome but the extra contenders didn’t really add much (for me) along the way. Sure they played their parts well with MVP being a scared little nancy-boy when not taking cheap opportunities, Finlay being a hard-headed sun-of-a-bitch, and all men building up the legitimacy of Taker and Batista as #1 contenders, but a lot of it (again most of it during Khali and V’s sections) felt rather hollow and empty. In the end, the Batista vs Undertaker confrontation with both men going through hell to get there, worked extremely well. ** ¾ Party at the Mansion: More airbrushed Maria in Playboy bullshit. Hey it’s Hiro from Heroes, awesome. Yes, I’m a dork. Career Threatening Match – Ric Flair vs. Mr. Kennedy: Another decent, watchable match. Better than the match Flair had with MVP but still too short to mean anything. It automatically gets extra brownie points for having the figure four on the ringpost in it. It had a gameplan and worked the gameplan to the best of it’s ability. Kennedy worked the leg, Flair attacked Kennedy’s leg to set up figure four, many figure four attempts reversed, figure four put on, SUCCESS! They seemed to have a little bit of miscommunication here and there, making for some awkward execution. ** ½ World Heavyweight Championship Match – Edge vs. Rey Mysterio: Ugh. Rey Mysterio injured, and thus the crowd KNEW he was losing and tuned out. They couldn’t do much due to the injury and thus the match was a short and sucky version of the match they had at Royal Rumble with no real story or glue to hold anything together. Blah. * The sequence with Big Show, Rey, and Mayweather afterwards was pulled off extremely well. It actually made Floyd look a bit sympathetic because he came in against a man much bigger than him to protect his friend. Too bad it was reversed over the next month…when he talked. WWE Championship Match – Randy Orton vs. John Cena: I know this idea of John Cena taking his title shot early made a lot of people bitch…but you know what, it makes sense that Cena would want revenge as quickly as possible. Orton is the guy who took him out for 4 months and seeing the way Orton is absolutely obsessed with the keeping the title there would be no sweeter revenge for Cena than taking it from him. All this is told expertly from the video package to the match itself, to the aftermath of the match. Orton is obsessed with the title and will do anything to keep it, Cena wants his title back. When Orton’s actual ability isn’t cutting it, he uses every trick in the book to keep his title until he finds one that works, which also happens to be the cheapest one in the book. This match all made sense and told a great story. It wasn’t executed perfectly, Orton’s methodical style slows the match way too much and Cena’s limited moveset also hurts the match a bit. But they played the crowd into investing in the story. *** ¼ Triple H Talks with Shawn Michaels about the Elimination Chamber Match RAW Elimination Chamber Match – Triple H v Shawn Michaels v Jeff Hardy v Chris Jericho v Umaga v JBL: Now this is a fun match. It’s an action-fest from beginning to end and booked picture perfectly to keep everybody strong. Probably one thing going against it is that it’s not entirely unpredictable and some of the eliminations happen way too quickly but otherwise, it’s a picture perfect mix of all the styles of wrestling in one match. Shawn and Jericho have a battle of technical one-upmanship to start it, Umaga and Triple H add some power wrestling, JBL some brawling, and Hardy some high-flying. It’s got a great mix of storylines going on and each one gets their chance to shine. I also loved the full-circle aspect of the final two going at it and they have tremendous encounter that has the crowd in the palm of their hand. One of the best **** ¼ Overall the show was just a bit stronger than Royal Rumble and that’s pretty much because the main even of No Way Out was stronger than the main event of Royal Rumble. They had comparable undercards but I really liked Raw’s Elimination Chamber match. You’ve also got a strong showing from Orton and Cena, as well as Batista and Taker. It’s a pretty good show. 8.0 Next is Mania 24 Top WWE PPV Matches of 08: Raw Elimination Chamber (No Way Out 08) - **** ¼ Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy (Royal Rumble 08) - *** ½ Randy Orton vs. John Cena (No Way Out 08) - *** ¼

Does that mean they were good or that they were terrible?

The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made -5 part Animated Fan Film involving characters from a variety of comic books and tv shows. Hulk vs. Wolverine Part 1 of 4 Hulk vs. Thor (Part 1 of 5)

I read about two or three story arcs to, and after that I decided I didn't like it. Sorry Dread. On another note, anybody Recommend any good Deadpool trades. I was eying the arc in Wolverine: Origins, the last arc in Cable and Deadpool, and the first trade of the new Deadpool series.

Youtube has the two Hulk Vs. movies if anybody is interested in watching those.

I only get one two comics monthly: Buffy Season 8. and Angel season 6. But I get more in trade: Criminal Daredevil X-Factor Thunderbolts Astonishing X-men (which I'm stopping because I just received Whedon's second volume). I'm interested in a ton of books though and I'm searching E-bay for giant lots of TPBs in order to get the whole series (or most of it, if it's not finished yet), it's how I picked up Preacher and Sandman very cost effective.: Y the Last Man Transmetropolitan The Walking Dead 100 Bullets Ex Machina

Finished episodes 9-13 which concludes the first season of the X-men the Animated Series, Episodes 9-10: The Cure and Come the Apocalypse These episodes could be watched separately, but work better together. The first episode obviously deals with a "faux" cure, and is Rogue-centric in terms of how she deals with her powers and her inability to touch people (a barrier to get close to anybody). It's a pretty sappy episode, but it makes sense, it's an essential part of the Rogue character and if anybody would consider taking the Cure it'd be Rogue. This episode has several guest appearances including Mystique, Apocalypse, Angel, Pyro, Avalanche, and Cable. Mystique and Apocalypse are the main baddies, it's a good intro to both characters. Apocalypse is very different than the other mutants we've seen, he lacks the human qualities, is much more megalomaniacal than any of the other villains int this show. Mystique is a pawn, a lost pawn, and Pyro and Apocalypse are cannon fodder and rather void of any entertainment value and don't serve as good means of moving the plot forward or comedic value. I'm not a huge fan of these episodes, they seem rather out of place in the whole mutant vs. humans theme, that runs through most of the first season. It makes sense only in that it shows how another point of view in that Apocalypse doesn't care about mutants or humans, just wants to rule the world. Anyways, Archangel makes an appearance as one of Apocalypse's baddies and serves as an interesting foil and opposite to Rogue's plight. 7/10 Episodes 11-12: Days of Future Past parts 1 and 2 I really really like these episodes, the future sequences are really cool to watch. The interactions between Wolverine, Bishop, and Gambit are great and oftentimes hilarious. And Wolverine throwing lines left and right, "At least I don't lose my hair." The whole episode really showcases the theme and brings it back after the derailment during the Apocalypse episodes. The won points are Storm is as dull as ever, the fight against Nimrod was a bit lame, and Pyro and Avalanche make their return (along with Blob) as more cannon fodder, although Blobs interactions with the X-men are fun because of dumb-witted he is. But there are plenty of high-points with this episode having a mystery angle running through them, Mystique also makes another appearance and has a great moment with Rogue building off the previous two episodes. The whole love-hate relationship between Gambit and Wolvie makes another appearance, which will be a plot-line that is tied up in the next episode. Senator Kelly comes back to the forefront, with his importance and the attacks spurning the actions in the next episode, the whole season is really all coming together at this point. And plus a Punisher appearance. 8/10 Episode 13: The Final Decision What a fun episode, the plot sucks and rehashed with the Sentinels (AI) trying to take over the world, but everything is built to this episode. It wraps up a lot of plot-lines involving every single member of the X-men (except for Storm, maybe) and it an action packed smash it up episode. The Gambit/Wolverine love/hate relationship comes to a head, the Gambit Rogue flirtations come to a head, the relationship between Magneto and Xavier comes full circle, Beast's sub-plot all season comes to a head, Wolverine comes to term with Morph's death, Cyclops and Jean's relationship comes to a head, Cyclops leadership skills fully bloom, the mutant-human politics is on the upswing, and even Jubilee becomes a full-fledged member of the X-men by getting in on the action. A really worthwhile ending to the season. And just so you know it's not over yet, there's even a teaser for Season two. 9.5/10

Royal Rumble 08 It’s been about a year since I followed WWE closely, and apparently from what I’ve heard, it’s been a hell of a year. That’s just bad timing on my part, I guess. So I’m going to try and catch up on all the PPV’s I missed. First up is Royal Rumble 08. MVP vs Ric Flair: I don’t think I was enthralled and amazed by anything during this time period, but I did like a lot of things. One of them was the build of MVP…but MVP is overshadowed by Flair here, because of his retirement tour. Flair’s age is really showing by this point, as he could hardly go as well as he used to, relying on a lot of chops as his offense. And as good as MVP is, he could hardly cover up both men’s limitations. The match was nothing special, at all, really forgetful actually, inconsequential. * ½ I completely forgot that whole Hornswoggle as McMahon’s bastard child fiasco. Ha! JBL vs Jericho: I was really excited for Jericho’s return, which was the reason the last full PPV that I watched was the one before this one. And when it seemed like Jericho was getting pushed back to the midcard, I jumped ship. Again, from what I’ve heard, bad timing. As good as the video packages can get, even they can’t cover up a feud that makes no sense and that’s exactly how I feel about this one. JR’s commentary is a great help in trying to tell the story, but the whole thing is floundering. It’s a decent match, starting out cautiously, letting the heat simmer, before coming to straight out brawling. JBL working the previously injured neck, before a busted-open Jericho makes his comeback. It’s feels like “snippets” from a really good feud. JBL and Jericho bring some great intensity in this match and honestly, I love how it ends, but the build isn’t there and it’s not cohesive enough. ** ½ Santino has some great stage presence and great comedic timing; the Divas have great…use of silicon? Edge vs Rey: Ever since Edge turned heel in 2004, he’s been on fire and has been one of the most consistently and best entertainers the WWE has had. The match was a little slower paced than what I expected, but it made sense in context of Rey’s injured leg (and if it wasn’t real kudos to Rey for tremendous selling) and Edge working that leg. The finish was also tremendous in terms of storytelling (with Vickie sacrificing herself for Edge), excitement (springboard into a spear), and near-falls. *** ¼ The segment with Shawn, HHH, Batista, Flair (and Kennedy) was pretty cool, especially considering the history between all these men. All of these men exude charisma, and it worked. Shawn was acting goofier than what I’m used to, but this was pretty close to the D-X reunion if I remember, although he did have an even more recent (and great) series with Randy Orton. Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy: Speaking of Orton, he has improved by leaps and bounds, and his newest title reign is a million times better than his first. Jeff Hardy also has made impressive strides towards being an upper-card player. This match really meshed both men’s histories well, Orton played the maniacal, obsessed, methodical, and sometimes lucky champion while Hardy played the risk-taking, thrill-seeker champion. It played well into the story of the match, and it went a long way in building Orton’s reign and also building Hardy’s new status as a World Title challenger. Some strikes against the match is that Hardy’s “risks” paled and would always pale in comparison to the dive from Raw, which kind of breaks the suspension in this match. Also the Orton’s methodicalness, although done with a purpose of building the story (keeping Hardy down on the mat so he won’t build momentum) can get overwhelming and slow the match down a bit too much. I really liked the ending of the match, it really showed just how close Hardy was to winning but kept Orton strong at the same time. *** ½ Royal Rumble: I like a lot of Rumbles, 2004 is my favorite and 1992, 2005, and 2001 hold honorable mentions with me. This Rumble didn’t do a whole lot for me. It seemed like there was a lot of times where people weren’t doing much. It started fantastically with Taker and HBK hooking up and ended fantastically with HHH and Cena hooking it up, but in between those two showdowns there was a lot missing. HBK and Taker’s interactions really hold most of the Rumble together. Sure there was building of feuds and such with Chavo and CM Punk being heated, Noble and Palumbo also being heated, and Snuka and Piper reigniting before our eyes, but it just didn’t hold the weight of previous Rumbles and was mostly rather boring. Sure everybody had their moments, Punk attacked everybody, Morrison and Shawn got in a little tiff, Shelton showed off his athleticism, but it all felt lesser. Cena’s return which was huge at this point, feels a lot smaller when taken out of context. That’s not to say it wasn’t good, just wasn’t up to the incredible booking standards that we’ve had in recent years. *** The Whole Show was rather good. Everything is more or less watchable and even the worst match had a purpose of building a storyline. The Rumble had some fun moments and it’s always cool to see so many wrestlers in the ring and so many different combinations (come on who wouldn’t want to see Hardcore Holly take on Taker or John Morrison take on HBK). The best match was not a must see but rather important in the evolution of Jeff Hardy, which is something that I can definitely get behind. One thing that was done really well was that this show had a lot of amazing finishing sequences. 8/10 Next up: No Way Out 08

Episode 7: Slave Island Storm, Jubilee, and Gambit take the forefront here. They tease Gambit as a traitor and it works because it is very early in the series, and Gambit has always been the most mysterious of the X-men. It's a half-way decent episode because of this Gambit tease and because of the social climate of the Human vs. Mutant serial storyline that proceeds throughout the series and especially during the first season. Storm gets some stuff to do, but the dullness of her character shines through. There's not much to her outside of the fact that she's motherly and she's claustrophobic. Jubilee also gets some stuff to do, she takes a lot of initiative in this episode in her escape plans, which should make the kiddies happy, her innocence and annoyingness shines through here. The episode falls flat. Ultimately you don't care. The guest-star is Cable and it's an utterly random guest appearance which makes it hilarious. His whole sub-plot makes no sense so most of his appearances are hilarious. His character and the theme for his character is really bad-ass though. They also tease a whole bunch of things for the rest of the season, such as the Master Mold, Cable's appearance, Stryker and Trask Sentinel duo, etc... 6/10 Episode 8: The Unstoppable Juggernaut I'm the Juggernaut bitch! Juggs makes his first appearance and they get him down pretty well. His anger towards Xavier isn't even expressed through him but through Rogue, which was neat as well. It's a pretty simple X-men vs. Super-villain episode but it's got an intriguing mystery plot to pad it out and a theme about teamwork to stuff down our throats. This episode also guest-stars Colossus, who makes a fun little appearance with the mistaken identity plot pointing towards him as the culprit. There's some interesting moments that back to the comics with Wolvie and Jubilee working together but it builds to a terrible line where Jubilee says, that wolverine and her can do anything. So yeah, still annoying. The final scene builds on the Jubilee and Wolvie relationship from earlier. The final battle is actually a pretty good one and it really does show each individual using their powers and their strength in a fight. Also a short appearance by Beast, that's pretty damn cool. I really like this episode it's got an interesting plot, some nice building of relationships, and some cool guest appearances. Also Wolvie has a line about Collusus after getting thrown that was like, "What an arm," that made me chuckle. 8/10

Episode 5: Captive Hearts Morlocks, great. I really really abhor this episode. It's rather boring because frankly the Cyclops/Jean Grey romance is boring and tame. The romance triangle with Cyclops/Jean/Wolvie was portrayed much better in the films. As interesting it might be to see mutants square off against mutants, the series is at it's best when it's dealing with the hatred of mutants by society. Nobody cares about the underground, unacceptable mutants, nobody cares about Callisto wanting a mate, and nobody cares about Storm proving her leadership skills. It's all so dull. The only interesting aspect of this episode, and I find myself saying this a lot lately, is Wolverine. His desire to be loved, to be Jean's, his assault on the fake Cyclops, all these make up the best parts of this episode. 5/10 Episode 6: Cold Vengeance Wolvie vs. Sabretooth Round 2. This a Wolverine-centric episode dealing with his search for peace, and how his demons tend to follow him (in this case Sabretooth) so he can never really achieve true peace. It's rather interesting that Wolvie finds peace in a society that does not know what a mutant is (maybe a play off of a color-blind society) but that the true adherence towards mutant/human peace is pride of man (shown by the jealous villager). Sabretooth makes a lot of hokey speeches in this one, but it's all there to set up the fight at the end of the episode. It's FOX and it's a cartoon, so certainly the fight sequences aren't all that great. But it's a fun little episode with a decent amount of action to liven it up a bit. The annoying sequences comes from the X-mansion with Cyclops being a complete dick one second, and then a complete brown-noser the next. His character takes a few steps back this episode because he totally brown-noses Xavier while earlier he had a completely different opinion, while in the first episode he was questioning the morality of Xavier's orders, posing some tough questions about their mission making them look like terrorists. 7.5/10

Watched episodes 3 and 4 (Enter Magneto and Deadly Reunions), I'm a bit disappointed how Magneto is handled, especially in episode 3, I understand the need for dumbing down certain things for the children audience but the glossing over of Magneto's origins kind of bugs me. What does come off particularly strong though is the differences in philosophy and this is all helped by the grand speeches made by Magneto. I particularly hate how Magneto's helmet doesn't protect him either. The first episode is missing a lot of emotional punch and the action sequence is kind of lame (although I think this was all done to reference the encounter in the comics) but the second episode has better action sequence and more emotional punch in spades. Both episodes really build to two big confrontations, the first between Magneto and Xavier and the second between Sabretooth and Wolverine. Both confrontations really live up to the build, although the wolverine vs. sabretooth fight is slightly marred by Jubilee's involvement. The comparison between the two confrontations is interesting but isn't really taken to it's full potential. Also the second episode has a lot of other fun moments such as Rogue kissing Cyclops and Storm's fear of doom. But the first episode is fairly dull. One of the most interesting things about this show is the continued use of subplots, with Beast's trial ongoing, the political actions all happening in the background as Senator Kelly announces his candidacy for President, and the social climate of the whole mutant idea. 7.5/10

I read Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson TPB vol. 1: The first two issues in this TPB aren't even Daredevil issues, but are Spider-man issues that guest-star DD, and really feel out of place in terms of story context and probably the worst stories of the bunch, while still interesting with DD leading around a blind Spider-man, but are significant because it's the first time that Miller ever drew the DD character. While a little more than half of the TPB is Miller as just the artist, these stories written by Roger Mckenzie are also very good and I felt set the stage for the Miller's run as writer. The Bullseye stories written by McKenzie set the stage for later confrontations written by Miller, who also took Bullseye's insane homicidal tendencies an extra notch. The McKenzie stories involving Mr. Slaughter set the tone for the later mob wars involving Kingpin written by Miller. Also many of DD's famous characters and plots including Ben Urich's subplot of discovering the identity of DD, the origin story of DD, the Elektra origin flashback, all these are within the confines of this book. Daredevil's defining characteristics are established here, the psychology of the DD's world is unique and dark, it's pretty much the basis for many writers' style todays. Although some of the early Miller stories are a bit rough in terms of pacing, constant retelling of the origin, and overuse of thought-bubbles, there's some great stories included here. The standouts include The Bulls-eye stories "In the hand of Bullseye," "To Dare the Devil" and "Devils," The flashback stories, "Exposed" and "Elektra" As well as Miller's three-part introduction of Kingpin. And the Hulk vs Daredevil in "Blind Alley" 9.0/10

So I bought this series off a site that sells dvds for many cartoon series that can not be found on store shelves (if you want it pm me and I'll give it to you). I was weary considering how unreliable many of these sites are but I did my research and found that many people have had no problem from this site. I decided to give it a go. Anyways, I've had this 4-disc set of X-men the Animated Series for about a half a year now and I wanted to rewatch the series. I figure with the holiday and the break from school, now is as good a time as any. I loved this show when I was younger, I loved this show about 6 years ago when I rewatched some episodes in my freshman year in college, and hopefully I'll love this show now. So in here I'll be posting my thoughts on the series as I move along. Whee. Episodes 1-2: Night of the Sentinels I have these first two episodes practically memorized because I've seen them so many times (remember that promotion with Pizza Hut selling two VHS tapes from a long time ago, yeah, the only reason I've ever been to Pizza Hut). Although the first half is used to introduce the characters of the X-men team through the eyes of the ultra-annoying Jubilee, it was a good idea, that I think was later utilized in the first X-men film with Wolverine/Rogue being introduced to the X-men. There's a long build-up to Wolverine as you don't even see him until the danger room fight with Gambit halfway through the episode, but it immediately sets him up as an awesome bad ass, which is why it's so funny that Jubilee knocks him off Gambit, with Beast and Morph laughing at him. The first episode does a great job introducing the characters but there's way too much annoying Jubilee. The second episode kicks it up a notch as not only is there an awesome fight sequence with team's mission turning into an absolute disaster, it's also a pretty dark no-nonsense episode with the arrest of Beast and the killing of morph. The second fight at the sentinel factory is just so the episode doesn't end on an absolute morbid note and allows the team to get a little bit of retribution but doesn't compare to the battle at the mutant registration facility. Overall, the quieter moments are more awesome than the action with Jubilee talking about the first time she kissed a boy, about what happened when her dad found out, the short fight between Professor X and Cyclops about the morality of the mission, and the short glares and scuffles between Cyclops and Wolvie, and of course, the various methods of mourning (or in Wolvie's case, AVENGING) morph. The animation itself isn't that great, it's a bit choppy at times, but it's certainly not unwatchable. You won't marvel at it like Batman's animation, but it won't want to make you check your internet connection like Scooby Doo or Speed Racer. These episodes are used to establish the tone, themes, and setting of the X-men world...but at the same time establishes the characters of the X-men and it does it ALL pretty well I might add. It's unfortunate that one of those characters is Jubilee and much of the episodes hinges on her involvement, from her being chased by sentinels in the mall, to her roaming the X-men halls, to her capture and rescue at the sentinel factory, which resulted in an underwhelming battle. 8.5 Next up the double feature involving Magneto (Enter Magneto and Deadly Ruins).

what about Return of the Joker????????? I separate Return of the Joker because it's not Batman, it's Batman Beyond and since I haven't seen Batman Beyond yet that one is going to have to wait until I give it a watch. It's been many years (more than 6) since I've seen that but I remember it being pretty damn awesome.